Alleppey

Today I go from Cochin to Alleppey.  It is a short drive, about 90 minutes.  I am to stay at a resort called Marari Beach.  My driver says it is very nice.

When I arrive I am given a blessing and presented with a coconut complete with straw for drinking the milk.  The milk is not bad but it is a bit warm.

After checking in I am escorted to my room:

It has an "open air bath":

                                         

 I must say I am not too excited about this as it seems an awful lot like camping.  But, I will go with it for 2 days.

There is a "pond" directly behind my villa.  I call it a stagnant mosquito breeding ground but they are quite proud of it here and refer to it as a rainwater reclamation area.

I do not have a guide while I am here but there are plenty of activities including a tour of the butterfly garden, a walk through the local village, cooking demonstrations and ayurveda treatments.

I enjoyed my massage in Cochin and decide to try another even though it is much more expensive here than in Cochin.

Before my massage I consult with an Ayurvedic doctor.  I tell him about my sore hip and my arrhythmia as well as my celiac disease.  He takes my pulses (these are ayurvedic pulses not the heart rate pulse we use in Western medicine), listens to my heart and checks my blood pressure.  He mutters to himself and asks, "Have you seen a cardiologist?"

I explain that I have and that they found an irregular heartbeat but I have not heard anything else.  He tells me that he thinks I have a heart murmur, a mitral valve stenosis.  I tell him I have been checked and there is no prolapse or structural issue.  He says he is just a barefoot doctor but there is definitely a problem.  My heart is not getting enough blood out to my brain and other tissues.  He says I MUST speak with my cardiologist as soon as I get back to the States (great, just what you want to hear in the middle of a month long trip to India).  He prescribes a massage and sends me off with a therapist. 

The ayurvedic massage is quite different from what we are used to in the U.S.  First, there is no draping because there is no drape.  You are covered only by a cloth reminiscent of a sumo wrestler.  The massage starts seated.  The head massage is first followed by the neck, shoulders, abdomen and back.  Only then do you lie on a table for the hips and legs. The massage is performed by 2 therapists working more or less in unison.  Then I am pummelled (their word not mine) with hot muslin bags filled with medicinal herbs.  It is not nearly as bad as it sounds.  After 60 minutes I am transferred to a steam cabinet for a medicated steam bath.  Once I am full cooked (ie sweaty) I am removed from the box.  I am sufficiently sweaty and oily so it is time for a shower.  I am assisted by a therapist who rubs me down with a powder made of neem, a type of plant, to absorb the oil from my skin.  She then washes my hair, dries me off, helps me get dressed, combs my hair and then sends me off with a blessing.

I am escorted back to the doctor who again reiterates the need for me to see a cardiologist and recommends another treatment for tomorrow.

Showered, scrubbed and relaxed I wander the property a bit and take photos.

It is nearly sunset and the beach is lovely:

 

On the way back I see an owl.  I think this means good luck.

I return to my room to read and await time for dinner.  I decide I am too tired to go to dinner so it is off to bed.  Nighty, night!!!